tim

Paul, Very eloquent! Tim

Andrew, I am not an expert but know that meats and fish absorb smoke flavor best when they are cured and cold. Nuts are completely different and it seems intuitive that the cooking process without smoke eliminated that flavor. The answers is to hot smoke the nuts at the same temp and for the same time as your roasting period. Maybe we have some experts to confirm these assumptions. Tim

Paul, I did not realize what a beautifully marbled roast you were cooking. The uncooked roast looks marvelous and I can almost smell the finished roast. Congratulations... and what kind of wine accompanied this glorious meal? Tim

Octaveman, "I've Never Been iIn Love Before' and Au Jus means with meat juices. There are a number of ways to simulate the flavor of meat juices, most pretty much like you make a full flavored stock. Roasted bones, meat trimmings, aromatics (onion, leeks, carrot, celery, garlic, meats, ham bones), and "Days of Wine and Roses". I mea red wine. You can finish with stock, reduced red wine (preferably a meritage with little oak), shallots, herbs, s&p and butter "Between the Devil and ;the Deep Blue Sea". Run your sauce through a fine strainer and give it "Second Chances" by adding those beef juices from your roast. In "Chicago" we adjust the consistency with glace or even arrowroot. Thank you for the musical accompianment. Tim ps: I've Never Been In Love Before" in the background!

Paul, I used to have problems with the basic BernzoMatic torch going out when the flame was pointed down, as in caramelizing creme brulee. It was the pressure regulator. BernzoMatic says: "When a non regulated brass torch is tipped upside down, the liquid propane in the torch works its way through the torch and blows out the flame. We recommend a pressure regulated torch, such as the TS3000T.' I bought the trigger start TS3000 ($24 - $32) and it works very nicely. It is fun to pull that trigger and grin.... Tim

Paul, Busboy began with a high temp sear and finished in a moderate oven. That information really does not relate to your method. I do know that searing at the beginning and finishing in a cool oven allows for immediate carving with no loss of juices, thereby no carry over heat increase. Even with a rest period, there is also minimal carry over heat from a 200 degree oven. If you sear at the end, you will obviously add to the carry over heat. Again, I think the stove top sear would be faster and minimize this problem. Tim

Hi, The Gundaberg is significantly sweeter than the Barritt's and has less ginger kick. I can also recommend D&G Jamaican ginger beer which is available throughout the US. Tim ps: How about some Bermuda Fish Chowder to go along with the Dark & Stormy?

Hi, In a roasting pan over two burners. The advantage is speed and less heating of the interior. I am now thinking this roast may cook in two hours. But, I really don't know. A two hour rest would eliminate the advantages of the finishing sear. Remember, that searing at the end is faster because the meat is hot and dry. Your rested meat exterior will be cold and wet. The oven sear will cook some of the interior of the meat. Where are our professionals with experience with dry aged roasts. Paul, go look at that oven and find out the lowest temp. Do you have a digital convection oven? The best solution is to ship the roast to me and I will hold it at 100 degrees or 130 degrees! We will hope for the best. How about beginning with a sear and cooking it to 118 degrees. Letting the oven cool to 115 degrees and putting the roast back in the oven, closing the door and proceeding. How about a contest on cooking time. I'll go for 2 hours. Tim

Hi, This is a very special cut of beef and I will disagree with the above idea. You do not want to be careless or casual with something this extraordinary. You made the statement that the roast weighed about 9 pounds. Is that the current or original weight? It would be nice to call on a restaurant chef who has cooked a roast with this kind of age. How about Lobels? This is one of those times you could use an Alto-Sham and hold the finished roast at 120 degrees. How low does that oven go? I'll take a guess at 3 hours with a sear. An internal probe with an external alert is essential. You should also know that a cooked roast will brown much faster than an uncooked roast. It is already dry and hot. I really think you want to do this when the internal temp is at 120 and minimize the time. That is why I suggested searing on the cooktop, less waiting. The idea of using a propane torch is likely to give your roast an extra dimension, gasoline flavor. Not a good idea.. Good luck Tim

Paul, To clarify, I assume that this roast is being wet aged. Is that correct. In my experience, dry aged beef cooks much faster than you would think. Much of the moisture has been eliminated in the aging process and your roast, if dry aged, was aged for a long time. If you roast your prime rib after cooktop searing, (my usual practice) it should take about 30 minutes per pound, at 200 degrees to reach 130 degrees. For your roast this is about 4 1/2 hours. That tells me that your 5 - 6 hour roast is too long, way too long if you roast is dry aged. You should also understand that roasting at 200 degrees eliminates the necessity for a rest period before serving. The juices stay well distributed at that low temp. Tim

Hi, I should have been more clear. For precision, use the hydrometer before adding the sugar. Follow with the algebraic method using the weight/ABV of the infused vodka and the weight of the finished limoncello. Tim

Thanks, Tim. But are you assuming that the alcohol and water of the spirit get absorbed into the solid matter at an identical rate? Because it's been my experience that the solids (fruit, herbs, etc.) absorb more alcohol than water. If you taste a piece of fruit that's been macerating in booze for some time, it hardly tastes like fruit, just fibrous booze. And the resultant liquid is much more flavorful and has a lower proof than the spirit used, hence the ability to freeze. Without a hydrometer, how can you tell what the proof is? ← Hi, I never assumed that precision was important to this equation. If you have to be that precise, a $10 hydrometer is the obvious solution, and probably faster than a caculator. Tim

Feste, You have to calculate the algebraic percentage of alcohol in the finished product. You begin with 25.4 ounces of 100 proof (50% ABV) vodka. When you finish, measure the total volume. Divide 25.4 by the total volume and multiply by 100 to get the final proof. Tim

Joe, There is a significant difference between a London style smoke and a heavy dry smoked salmon. I aim for salmon that has enough moisture to be thinly sliced along the filet in large sheets. A really heavy smoke takes too much moisture for this texture. I would guess that you might like more smoke than I usually use. Ten minutes every 45 minutes with 4 repititions may suit you. You might want to open your chamber between smoking periods and test a small piece of the edge. (Do not attempt if you have been standing nearby; you won't be able to taste the smoke) Recognize that smoke flavor continues infusing through the fish for at least the following day or two. Experiment and have some fun. Tim

Joe, It is not necessary to vent your smoking box if the box is mounted above your smoke generator. The warm smoke will rise into the smoke chamber and stay there. Yes, a vent will draw the smoke, and related heat, through the box. That heat is not desireable in this situation. Go check out Pepin's recipe. Here is a picture of my rig, and yes the lid is placed on and sealed with tape while the smoke is flowing. Tim

Robert, Have changes in popular culture affected the selection of cocktail ingredients that are widely available in the US? It seems that we have ever increasing availability of wines, beers and liquors but a much smaller growth in cocktail ingredients. Fifty years ago, dry ginger beer was widely available. It is now hard to find and much is a cloyingly sweet product that has taken over this market. It would also be wonderful to have a decent range of falernums or sea moss available in our markets. What are your thoughts? Thank you for participating in this eGullet forum. Tim

Joe, The old smoke precipitates on the sides of your container. My old garbage can smells better than the salmon that I have smoked. Tim

Hi, This seems to confirm that salt leeches moisture from the fish and creates a salty brine that is absorbed back into the fish. Too much time may allow too much salt to reabsorb into the fish. That's why I suggested two successive and short dry brining periods. Tim

Yes and Yes! Tim

Joe, I'd suggest you look at that Ruhlman recipe and follow his lead. The 10 minute smoke every hour only works with a well sealed chanber and I have no experience with the Bradley. Good luck, Tim

Hi, The length of the dry brine should really depend on the size of the filet. A thin filet dictates shorter brining. I have brined fish for periods ranging from 6 to 18 hours and think the flavor of the fish was best with that short brining. Frankly, the longer brine yielded a drier fish that was somewhat salty. That is why I suggested the concept of two shorter successive dry brines. Pepin's method for smoking is to introduce fairly heavy smoke (I use white oak or alder) to the chamber for about 10 minutes and then leaving the chamber closed for an hour. This is repeated twice for a total of 3 hours of smoking. Pepin uses wood chips in a flower pot with an electric bbq starter to create the smoke. This is piped into an empty refrigerator. (I use a heating duct running into a garbage can.) The technique allows for smoking at ambient temperature. Sorry, I do not have a link. You may get the full recipe from two of his books, Jacques Pepin's Techniques or Jacques Pepin Celebrates. Visit your local library. Tim

Hi, In my experience you will do much better with a dry brine. A dry brine removes moisture while a wet brine adds moisture. It has been shown that dry brining leeches moisture from flesh which is subsequently reabsorbed into the flesh with the salt. This reabsorption may not occur if you dry brine with a large quantity of salt. It would be interesting to experiment with a three hour periods of dry brining with kosher salt followed by rinsing and drying and a second three hour dry brine. This would increase the drying process and add less salt to the flesh. I have used Jacques Pepin's cold smoking recipe/techniques with excellent results. For 5 1/2 pounds of salmon filets, he uses a mixture of 3/4 cup kosher salt and 1/4 cup sugar. The fish are double wrapped and refrigerated 6 to 24 hours, turning once or twice. (The shorter brine was my preference.) The fish is then rinsed, dried and smoked below 80 degrees. To achieve this in a Bradley, you will have to use a remote source of smoke or a remote chamber for the smoking. Good luck, Tim

Katie, Other than the sides, a well-seasoned carbon steel paella pan or skillet should be perfect for tate tatin. These pans are completely non-stick after proper seasoning. DeBuyer used to make these pans in France. They are now made in China and supplied by World Cuisine. To get a pan that is 1 3/4" high, you need a larger pan. The 11 7/8" Carbon Steel Paella is 1 5/8" high. The 14 1/8" Carbon Steel Paella is 2" deep. These pans are also wonderful roasting pans and really good for frying, even omelets. The price is also attractive although they might wear out after a few hundred years. Tim

Hi,, We used to go to a wonderful French restaurant that was only opened for lunch. The cook used to survey the diners, standing at the counter wearing a dirty t-shirt, with tattooed arms. The restaurant remodeled and re-opened for upscale evening dining. We took a group of friends, really looking forward to a nice dinner. They acquired new waitstaff, very preppy, friendly and young. We were talking to our waiter about the changes to the restaurant and I commented about the cook, who used to watch over the luncheon diners. He responded, "Oh, you mean the CHEF!" I naively asked, "What's the difference between a cook and a chef?" The instant response, "Just the quality of the tattoos!" Tim ps: Yes, the food was wonderful, tatoos or not.

Hi, Williams-Sonoma's video on roasting a turkey in their "exclusive" All-Clad roaster is priceless. The cook removes the turkey from the pan which is strangely clean, like off the shelf clean. No fats, no fond, no brown bits... Tim